Written in Blood
by Sy Druid
Summary: They were children, staring at the night sky. Riku made a promise, Sora accepted. Now, one mourns the death of his parents. The other, returns to fulfill that promise years later no matter what pain he may have suffered. RikuXSora.Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts and all that good stuff.

Written in Blood

He could hear them crying, but he knew deep within himself that their tears were anything but real. It was all a façade, a sympathetic act for the sake of his loss. Sitting in front of him, adorned with flowers of every kind imaginable, were two caskets. One belonged to his father, the other to his mother. Both were the victims of a plane crash that could have been avoided. To Sora, it was a betrayal. A betrayal by whatever god was up there for taking the only two family members he had left. There were dark circles underneath his eyes, signs that he had gotten little sleep over that last couple days. Sora wouldn't be surprised if he could ever sleep again.

"We have gathered here to pay our respects…"

Sora knew the preacher was speaking, but he could barely hear him. He didn't care for what he had to say, if anything, the chocolate-haired teen knew he was reciting the same speech he had done at numerous other funerals. There was nothing special, no heavenly message in his sermon. If he could, Sora would have no problem in getting up from his seat and walking away. In reality, there was nothing holding him back. Everyone around meant nothing to him, he didn't need to stay and feel suffocated by their pity. Sora made to stand up, but the flash of silver hair caused him to freeze in mid-step.

"…They are now, in a much better place. Away from all the evils…"

The preacher continued with his ritual sermon as Sora stared forward, his eyes completely latched onto the tall, handsome figure in the distance. He could feel his chest pounding, his lungs constricting and begging for air. All of a sudden, the black tie around his neck was like a deadly viper cutting off his circulation.

"…We will all miss these beloved people…"

Before he knew it, the caskets were being lowered into their eternal resting place. It was at this point that everything set in. His parents were dead, he had no living relatives, and he was alone. He had cried and cried, so much his throat was still ragged and sore. But now, there was not a single tear. The caskets continued to lower, disappearing into the darkness. But Sora was in a completely different place. He stood mesmerized by the newcomer, his silver hair wafting in the afternoon breeze. By the time he snapped out of his dream like state, everyone was gone. That is, everyone except for the person walking in his direction.

"You…it's you," Sora said quietly, more to himself than to the silver haired teen. The figure stopped short of the brunet and brought out a hand.

"It's been a long time Sora," he responded. Sora took a hold of the outstretched hand and felt a warmth envelope him.

"It has, Riku. What are you doing here?"

Riku looked over his shoulder, eyes falling on the freshly made graves adorned by flowers. "I wouldn't be a very good friend if I couldn't be here when you're going through such a hard time."

Sora looked away, not wanting to accept the grim reality. "How did you hear about it? I haven't seen, let alone talked to you in five years."

The older boy placed his hands in his back pockets. He was wearing black slacks, and a white shirt adorned with a black tie. Basically, a carbon copy of what Sora was wearing. Riku's expression seemed to change. There was a sudden uneasiness in his eyes. The brunet could see it distinctly and was almost afraid to ask.

"Do you…" Riku began, "remember when we were little, that night the meteor shower took place?"

Sora skimmed through his memories quickly before a distinct picture popped up. He was sitting on the edge of the small island he and Riku used to play on. They were around six years old, well, seven in Riku's case. The news reporter had informed the island that there was going to be a meteor shower that night. Needless to say, the boys were very excited about the event. Together they sat on the edge of the island, feet dangling over into the darkness. The meteors started falling and the skies seemed to burn.

"Yeah, I remember," Sora said, gaze looking up to the older teen. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Riku played with the tip of his tie. "I guess you don't remember."

Sora seemed confused. "I don't know…I just remember sitting with you looking up at the sky…" Then it all became crystal clear.

_Riku had taken Sora's hand in his. He looked at Riku, curiosity sparkling in his eyes. _

"_Sora, we're best friends, right?"_

_He shook his head furiously, "Yeah, we are! You're my best friend Riku."_

_The older boy continued holding onto the other's hand._

"_We always want to be together, right?"_

"_Yeah, always Riku."_

"_Then I want to make you a promise."_

_Sora brought a finger to his lips. "What kind of promise?"_

"_If we ever have to be apart, and something bad happens, I'll come to rescue you."_

_Sora looked at him oddly. "If something bad happens? Why?"_

"_Because I never want to see you cry."_

"Because I never want to see you cry," Riku repeated. Sora stood transfixed by the memory. It had been years since that night, but he could now freely recall every detail. He could remember every little falling star, burning brightly as it fell to the earth.

"I've come to rescue you."

Sora took a step back. "What are you talking about Riku? We were kids back then, it didn't mean anything." The corners of his eyes were now stinging. He felt like he was being teased with such a childish wish. But, he had believed it. When Riku moved away five years ago, that promise died with it. Never had he thought they would ever be apart. He agreed to the promise because he believed Riku would never leave him. And he did. Now, he was back, and that promise was distinctly standing in front of him.

"I never thought you would leave."

Riku looked at the tips of his black shoes. "I didn't either. But that promise was something I meant. Here, there's something I should show you."

What followed next had Sora's face burning hotter than any star. Riku began pulling his tie off then his fingers began working on the plastic buttons holding his shirt closed. Sora felt like he should look away, but doing so was proving to be a very difficult task. He had seen Riku naked many times as a kid, but this was something completely different. After the last button had been loosened, the white shirt fell to the earth and Sora found himself staring at Riku's naked chest.

"Look at me Sora…"

Sora felt his throat tighten at the sight. At first, he thought it was a tattoo, but when the words scribbled all across his chest began to bleed, he knew something was terribly wrong. He brought a hand to his mouth.

"What, what IS this Riku? What are these words? WHY are you bleeding?"

Riku folded his arms, his skin immediately stained by the rivers of blood oozing from his wounds. "This happened three days ago. Can you think of anything happening three days ago?"

Sora's eyes went wide. "The plane crash…the day my parents died."

"If we ever have to be apart, and something bad happens, I'll come to rescue you," Riku repeated part of his promise. "That sentence started carving itself into my skin three days ago. I couldn't understand why, but the moment I read it, I knew something had happened to you."

Sora inched closer. "Oh my god…Riku…I'm so sorry, this is happening because of me." Fresh tears began to cascade down his cheeks. "I'm sorry…"

Riku walked closer to the brunet. "No, stop Sora, this is exactly what I promised you. I never wanted to see you cry. Please, don't, not for my sake."

Sora wiped the salty tears away. "How can I not Riku? This is happening to you because of me, whatever it is. Have you tried going to a doctor?"

The older teen shook his head. "No, I've been traveling the last three days to get here."

"You need to go to a doctor, right now. Come on, I'll take you myself."

"It's okay Sora," Riku said picking up his shirt off the ground. "I just need to take a shower and I'll be fine."

"Riku, you have words CARVED into your skin, you need to see a doctor right now," he said in a demanding voice. Before Riku could say another word, Sora grabbed him by the hand and began dragging him away. "I won't force you, but at least let's get you cleaned up for now."

Twenty minutes later Sora and Riku were walking through the front door of his house. The brunet ushered Riku towards the nearest bathroom and closed the door behind them.

"I can do this myself Sora, you can wait outside."

The younger boy shook his head. "I know you can, but I'm going to help you get cleaned up."

Riku removed the blood soaked shirt and let it drop to the floor. He let Sora turn the shower on as he removed the rest of his clothing. Immediately the room began to fog up and Riku carefully stepped into the shower. He bit his bottom lip, allowing the smallest of hisses to escape. It stung horribly there was no denying it. But having Sora near, helping him wash away the dry caked blood seemed to ease the pain slightly. Sora tried his hardest not to look at anything but the carved words.

"This is crazy Riku. Why do you think this is happening? I don't understand."

Riku pushed a soggy bunch of hair away from his face. "I don't know. The first thing that came to mind was something like the Stigmata."

"Stigmata?"

"The wounds on Jesus Christ."

Sora arched an eyebrow as he worked on Riku's left arm. "I'm not religious by any means Riku, but I don't remember Jesus having WORDS carved anywhere on his body."

He felt his cheeks redden when he heard a chuckle escape the taller figure in front of him. "I said SOMETHING like the Stigmata, I didn't mean that was it. I don't have any idea why this happened. In a morbid way, I think this was a reminder to myself that I had to come back for you, I had to keep my promise."

Sora stopped scrubbing Riku's chest, his hands stained red. "I'm fine Riku, or, I will be. You didn't need to come back. We were kids. Whatever we said back then, it was us being kids. You didn't need to drop everything and come here because of it."

"I think you need me more than anything right now. Sora, your parents died. I can't begin to understand what's going on in your head, but let me be here to help you."

Riku looked down at Sora's figure. They remained silent for a few long minutes. The shower water had numbed his pain away. There was no more blood oozing from his wounds. He used a finger to lift Sora's chin upwards. This time, he wasn't sure if it was tears or the shower staining rivers down Sora's cheeks. Without thinking, Riku knelt down and placed his lips to the salty tears. Sora felt his warmth spread throughout him. It was the most comforting feeling he had experienced in such a long time.

"Riku," Sora whispered.

The silver lifted his lips from his cheek. "Yeah?"

"I don't think it's fair for you to have gone through this alone, so I'm going to make it right."

Riku gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

Sora took a hold of Riku's hand, and grasped it tightly. "I promise that I will never hesitate to reach out to you when help is being offered."

He felt like a thousand knifes were cutting into his back. Hot blood was coursing down his spine, mixing with the shower water. It hurt incredibly, but Riku stood there, holding him tightly in his arms.

"There," Sora said through small gasps, "we're even now."

Riku didn't need to say anything more.

A/N: Hope you liked. Please R&R


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